Fig. 7.

(a) Fluorescent dye-loaded GRGDS-POEOMA nanogels were synthesized using AGET ATRP in inverse miniemulsion of water/cyclohexane at ambient temperature. The nanogels were subsequently modified to enable incorporation into macroscopic HAGM or poly(ethylene oxide) dimethacrylate (PEODM) hydrogels via FRP under UV irradiation, forming nanostructured hybrid hydrogels. (b) Confocal microscopy was used to image the nanostructured hybrid hydrogel. RITC-Dx-labeled nanogels (1%, w/v, red spots) are covalently bound and dispersed in the scaffold stained with FITC (10%, w/v, green clusters). (c) A hybrid hydrogel of RITC-Dx-labeled nanogels (red) inside of a polyurethane matrix was synthesized. Differential interference contrast (DIC) and florescence images were merged to show the polyurethane foam network (gray, 300–400 μm pore diameter) and nanogels (red, 150 nm diameter).

(a) and (b) are reproduced from Ref. [237] with permission of Elsevier.